Synopsis

The global Ebola epidemic was the most striking infectious disease this year. In the Netherlands, no Ebola patients were identified, but much time was spent on preventative measures. In addition, there was an outbreak of measles in the Netherlands, which began in 2013 and ended in the first months of 2014.
In this, 2,700 patients were reported and €3.9 million was spent to control the epidemic. The largest cost items were the work of the relevant public health services and the hospitalisation of seriously ill patients.
These facts are included in State of Infectious Diseases in the Netherlands, 2014, an annual report that provides insight into trends in infectious diseases in the Dutch population. In addition, each year, developments in the field of infectious diseases in foreign countries that are relevant to the Netherlands are described.
This annual publication provides information to policy makers at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). This year's theme is the cost of the treatment, prevention and control of infectious diseases.
To provide relevant insight, these costs were calculated for the measles epidemic and the outbreak of Salmonella Thompson in smoked salmon in 2012. These two major events were selected because they caused illness across the country. The costs of the Salmonella Thompson outbreak, whose 1,149 cases were identified using laboratory diagnostics, amounted to €1.7 million. The largest cost items were the work of the Dutch Food Safety Authority (NVWA) in tracing the source of the contamination and the hospitalisation of seriously ill patients.
The study also describes how the cost and health outcomes of different interventions can be compared. Cost-effectiveness studies can be used to determine the most effective use of health care budgets. In this report, the most common methods of measuring outcomes and cost-effectiveness are explained.